


the gaps between your fingers

by magisterequitum



Category: Psy-Changeling - Nalini Singh
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-28
Updated: 2013-11-28
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magisterequitum/pseuds/magisterequitum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaleb straightened and tilted his head, the corner of his mouth ticking ever so slightly. Facial expressions were more freely given to her, but still it was something he had to fight to overcome. "Would you like to climb trees?" He posed the question with an air of innocence, one eyebrow inclining.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the gaps between your fingers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spyglass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spyglass/gifts), [tosca1390](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tosca1390/gifts), [torigates](https://archiveofourown.org/users/torigates/gifts), [katayla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katayla/gifts), [empressearwig](https://archiveofourown.org/users/empressearwig/gifts).



> Set post Heart of Obsidian. 
> 
> There are two deleted scenes in the back of the paperback version of this book, and one reveals that Sahara taught him to climb trees for fun, and the other how she made the wooden award with his name on it for climbing trees. 
> 
> I couldn't not do something with it after reading them.

"I made this for you," Sahara said as she picked up the odd shaped piece of wood with one hand. The memory resided in full now. She appraised her handiwork done by eager child hands, the award done in secrecy, clumsily put together but done so with the single purpose of wanting to give a sad boy something kind. 

Casting a look over her shoulders across the study where Kaleb sat behind the desk, she traced the carvings. "It's rather silly looking now. I was not very skilled." Her nail caught in the 'E' of his name. 

They're in the study. A few weeks since the announcement of the fall of Silence, and it was a day in which neither of them had obligations to fulfill. While she liked the hope they gave together to those who needed it, and the work to be done, as well as they acquaintances they each had, Sahara couldn't help but be selfish in wanting to herself at times. Possessive, he'd said into the shell of her ear after waking her and hearing her sentiments on the matter. She'd never denied it. Aside from an early meeting, he'd had nothing else scheduled. 

And so, she'd done her morning strength exercises, still working to improve her muscles and dancing, and then had joined him in this room with a datapad and her own readings. 

She'd been stretching her legs when the award caught her attention. 

A warm hand curved around her hip, star filled eyes changing to a familiar midnight sheen, as he touched the piece of wood. "No one," Kaleb said, voice quiet in the study, "had ever given me anything before this." 

_before you,_ he whispered across her mind. 

Sahara swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling thick. "You deserved it."

 _and so much more_. 

As a child, Sahara hadn't been naive to what Santano had done to Kaleb, and given the kindness her father had always raised her with in private, she had only been able to do what she could to transfer that to her friend who deserved that kindness too. Deserved and needed and was owed simply because he was a person. Even if all she had been able to do was give him a piece of wood. 

His fingers spasmed on her hip, pressing into her skin through the cotton of her shirt. He caught her gaze, ducking his head down to be closer. "I had a very good teacher." 

A diversion from the harmful thoughts that threaten to roll over both of their minds, and she cannot fault him for this tactic. Instead, she smiled. "I was, wasn't I?" 

Kaleb straightened and tilted his head, the corner of his mouth ticking ever so slightly. Facial expressions were more freely given to her, but still it was something he had to fight to overcome. "Would you like to climb trees?" He posed the question with an air of innocence, one eyebrow inclining. 

"Now?" Her hand tightened around the award. 

He cast a look at the desk where he'd been going through business reports of the corporations and investments he held. "They can wait." The award he took from her and placed back where it had been displayed. 

"Yes," Sahara exhaled, not realizing she'd been holding the word in. 

Glancing at both of their bodies, a lingering look on her and the shirt that really she'd taken from him, he said, "We will need more suitable clothing." 

She smiled and touched his tie. "Suits are not good climbing attire." 

"I will defer to the expert," he said before moving them to their room. 

They changed quick, cargo pants and long sleeved shirts that breathed easily in the material, and then her hand was clutched tight and their bedroom no more. Teleportation movement was an odd sensation, but with Kaleb it lasted only a heartbeat and a blink, their minds coalescing together in facilitation. 

When she opened her eyes, green trees and dappled sunlight greeted her. The scent of familiar conifers registered. She laughed in recognition. He'd brought them to the woods surrounding the NightStar compound. To the place where she'd taught him as children. 

"There's no one else around?" She asked, knowing that her uncle still employed men to keep watch and that the leopards monitored this area at times also. 

Kaleb's gaze unfocused for a moment and then blinked back into the present. "No. We are the only ones here." 

She nodded. "Good." 

Sahara led him past several trees, assessing them for their worthiness and capability, their fingers bumping together where he walked slightly behind her, till she twisted her own digits and he caught her hand, palms meeting. 

"Here," she declared at last, walking around to the opposite side from him. "You can't cheat." 

That earned her a pursed mouth and eyebrow raise. "When did I ever?" 

She recalled the image of him scaling the rocks on the mountain side with ease, the gracefulness of him, and thinks that perhaps he might surpass her this time. "I know how you Tks operate." 

The white in his eyes sparked. He eyed her from around the tree's trunk. "We shall see." 

Another laugh from her and she got a smile in response, both of them reaching for the limbs above them. Her own mouth pulled upward as she climbed, hand over hand, arms ever reaching and feet finding purchase where needed. She'd picked a tree with low enough limbs that they could get started and old enough to hold their weight. He outstripped her, his black clad form disappearing into the greenery, and her muscles burned by the time she drew close to the top. 

Kaleb steadied her, moving her to join him on a wide limb, and picked nettles from her braid. "I win." 

Sahara huffed, shaking her head, breathing in deep to replace the expelled air from her lungs. The burn all over felt wonderful to her. From this high she could see the mountains and the clouds that dipped around their peaks. "A+," she said after a moment, returning her attention to the body pressed against her and keeping her from plummeting to the ground below. 

"I had a very good teacher," he responded with, echoing his earlier statement. 

She kissed him for that, letting her nose bump against his, tucked there against his side. When he lifted a hand to touch the angle of her jaw, she leaned into that too. 

He pulled back, eyes rolling with twilight blues, and murmured against her mouth. "I will give you a head start down."

Sahara laughed and bit his lip, reaching behind her for a limb to purchase on. When he beat her to the ground, she only told him they would have to go again.


End file.
